Yogi govt to buy 804 inflatable boats for 22 flood-prone districts of UP

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 23 : The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to purchase 804 inflatable boats for 22 flood-prone districts of the state. The inflatable boats, to be bought at the cost of Rs 80.40 crores, will cater to the needs of 2,412 villages located in the basins of the Ghaghra/Saryu, Rapti, and Sharda rivers, according to a press release by the Chief Minister's office.
The tender process for the purchase of inflatable boats will soon be started by the Relief Commissioner's office.
Notably, only local people will operate these boats, and the Yogi government, in return, will also provide them with remuneration for this work.
Relief Commissioner GS Naveen said that during the intensive mapping of the entire state, carried out by the state government through satellite regarding floods and waterlogging, it was found that 2412 villages situated in the basin of the Ghaghra Saryu, Rapti and Sharda rivers in the state are prominently flood-prone.
He added that areas where floods have been a recurring issue in the last seven to ten years were specifically marked during the mapping exercise.
In the mapping, it was found necessary to prepare these villages, which are spread over an area of 1,500 kilometres, in advance to deal with floods and minimise loss of life.
He further mentioned that the need for one boat between approximately three villages was felt for this purpose, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was informed about it.
Considering the issues in the 22 flood-affected districts, the purchase of boats was approved.
Rahat Emergency Project Director Aditi Umrao said that the process of purchasing boats will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, 400 boats will be purchased for 6 districts, including Ballia, Balrampur, Deoria, Gonda, Gorakhpur and Bhadohi, while in the second phase, 404 boats will be purchased for the remaining 16 districts.
On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an SDRF officer will be nominated as a technical member of the committee for the purchase of boats. The specifications for purchasing these boats will be obtained from the National Disaster Management Authority, the Coast Guard, and the NDRF.
Moreover, the responsibility for the maintenance of these boats will be given to the respective Lekhpal, who will be provided with a tin box, wherein he will keep all the material safe after the rescue. This box will be kept in Panchayat Bhawan and other local government buildings. AMC will be responsible for its maintenance.
Furthermore, local people will be given training to operate these boats to provide immediate relief during floods. Often, locals depend on the SDRF and NDRF teams for flood relief, and in such a situation, a lot of damage is done before the team reaches these areas.
Keeping this in mind, it has been decided to provide training to local people. They will be trained by the National Disaster Management Authority, the National Disaster Response Force and the Coast Guard to operate the boats. These 'aapda mitras' will be given a daily honorarium as per the mandate of the Labour Department for operating the boats during floods.